Come, Boy! Santiago Stays by Angela Dominguez

"HERE, SANTIAGO!

LOOK WHAT I'VE GOT FOR YOU!"

Most dog owners have to work hard to get their dogs to sit and stay, but this boy has the opposite problem.

Santiago won't move!

Nothing works.  The boy offers his favorite toys and tenders a game of fetch.

Santiago sits.

The boy holds up his blue leash enticingly. Want to take a long walk?  He offers Santiago his favorite sweater to wear.

Santiago simply won't rise to the occasion!

"A YUMMY TREAT?"

Dog treats don't do the trick.  When Santiago won't bite on that, the boy ups the ante with a turkey leg.  How about a hamburger on the side?

Santiago lies down definitively on the mat. This dog is not budging!

Is Santiago a bad dog?  Or is he the world's most loyal guard dog? Kids will find out when the boy's baby sister wakes and begins to wail from her crib in Angela Dominguez' latest, Santiago Stays (Abrams, 2013).  Dominguez, author of Let's Go, Hugo! (see review here) will earn the author-illustrator more fans for her subtly charming style of illustration. Santiago is one of the cutest pups on a mission in all of muttdom, and this story of a dog who does his duty is sure to win the preschool hearts. Kirkus says " Dog lovers and older siblings alike will bask in the quiet humor as they try to solve this gentle canine mystery."

Whose Unicorn Is It? Goldilicious by Victoria Kann

"I'm getting Goldie ready for the Unicorn Ball," I said.

"What unicorn? I don't see any unicorn," said Peter.

"She's right here and she's not any unicorn; she's my unicorn. Her name is Goldicious--Goldie."

But before Peter can launch into his logical argument against the reality of unicorns, Pinkalicious suddenly turns to Goldie and begins to scold:

"Oh, Goldie, you should do THAT on the floor! You know better. Just neigh if you need to go outside. I'm sorry, Peter, but you are stepping right in it." I said.

Little brother Peter may profess not to believe in unicorns, but he can't help sneaking a disgusted look at the bottom of his shoes as big sister Pinkalicious sweeps proudly by, leading her private unicorn Goldie outside.

It's a bit of sibling one-up-manship, and Peter is determined to best his sister's pink-tastic mythical friend. Peter bravely ascends into Goldie's tree house redoubt, and as the powerful Wandering Wizard, declares that he will kidnap her and hold her prisoner in his own castle. And with that, Peter is himself hooked by Pinkie's fantasy, and the two soon are deep in their roles in one fanciful unicorn adventure after another--from swashbuckling buccaneers to sailing through the darkling sky on unicornback.

"Wow! Not only can she float on water. She can float in the air. Goldie is flying!" said Peter.

It's a great playtime--all in the golden afternoon--for both Pinkalicious and, as it turns out, for her naysaying but imaginative little brother as well, one that lasts until it's almost time for bed.

Goldilicious (Harper, 2009) is the sequel to Victoria Kann's best-selling Pinkalicious and Purplicious. Fans of that other glitter girl, Fancy Nancy will also find Pinkie's latest story a fine ride on a pink-tastic steed.

Two Cool for School: Cool Zone with the Pain and the Great One by Judy Blume

Sometimes two heads are better than one, even if it is your big sister or (heavens forbid) your little brother who helps you out of a sticky situation at school. Jacob and Abigail (a.k.a. the Pain and the Great One) are back in a fast follow-up to last year's Soupy Saturdays with the Pain and the Great One (Pain & the Great One), which re-introduced Judy Blume's popular picture-book characters to early chapter readers.

In Cool Zone with the Pain and the Great One (Pain & the Great One) Blume shows Jake and Abigail, still sibling rivals at home, pulling together to help each other at school. In the opening chapter, Abigail ruluctantly agrees to keep up with the baby tooth Jake loses on the bus on the way to school. Ever conscientious, Abby even avoids jumping rope at recess to prevent dropping the tooth, but scatterbrained Jake loses it before bedtime and and has nothing to leave for the Tooth Fairy. Reluctantly Abigail agees to write the fairy a signed excuse note in return for half of Jake's take from the tooth, but when she demands half of the dollar Jacob finds under his pillow the next morning, she is disgusted when Jake grabs the scissors and whacks the bill in two. "Fifty-Fifty, right?" he says with a grin.

In Jacob's chapter titled "The Soggy Egg Roll," Abigail rescues Jake and his new magnifying glass from the school bully Roger Culley, and in "Bruno's Ear," Abigail has to break away from her gym class to salvage Jake's beloved purple elephant, taken to school for "Bring Your Pretend Pet to School Day," from the jaws of a huge runaway dog named Baby, whose owner didn't quite understand the "pretend" part of the assignment.

Jake returns the favor when Abigail decides to change her name to Violet Rose. Her "Two Flower" name starts a fad for serial name changing among her friends. Trendy new Jasmines, Sierras, Keeshas, and Tiffanys are showing up daily until Jake helps "Violet Rose" find a face-saving way back to her real name again. As always, Fluzzy the Cat gets the last chapter to himself when the bell the family puts on his collar begins to drive everyone crazy.

Apparently, Blume has been busy. Book 3 of this series, Going, Going, Gone! with the Pain and the Great One (The Pain and the Great One) is set for publication on August 8, 2008. Notable cartoonist/illustrator James Stevenson (of New Yorker fame) provides just-right illustrations for this gently light-hearted series. Beginning chapter readers will enjoy these tales of a big sister and little brother who find that having a sibling as backup comes in handy--especially at school.